The Ada Township Planning Commission has set a public
hearing for consideration of a draft zoning ordinance that would allow a
caretaker housing unit in zoning districts that do not currently allow residential
dwellings.

The request to make a change to existing ordinances comes
from Planning Director Jim Ferro, who suggested that the issue be addressed
after a local business owner requested permission to build a caretaker unit in
an industrial zone.

Rick and Kathy Turchetti, owners of Canterbury Creek Farm Preschool, asked permission to build a caretaker unit so "someone could be on
site to care for the animals when owners are out of town."

Current zoning rules do not speak to the issue at all, said
Ferro.

The preschool, which houses a variety of farm animals, dates back
over four decades and was previously housed in Lowell and on Ada Drive just
outside the village. In 2012, it relocated its barns and main facility to 6555
Grand River Drive on an industrial site. It has been zoned industrial for at the last three decades,
according to Ferro.

The township changed zoning regulations to allow for child-care facilities in industrial zones prior to the preschool's move from Ada Drive.

The proposed ordinance will restrict caretaker units in non-residential
districts to 24-hour uses, "including but not limited to security and animal
care." The public hearing will be set
for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 18, at the Township Hall, 7330 Thornapple River Drive,
Ada.